Photo Club

Vivid

Genre: Feature

Director: Bo Edwards (AKA: Paul Thomas)

Cast: Dasha, Dillion Day, Brittney Skye, Herschel Savage, Ann Marie, Stormy, Cherokee, Sunrise Adams, Slim Shady, Mike Horner, Lezley Zen, Eric Price

Length: 90.5 minutes

Date of Production: 7/25/02

Extra's: five unrelated bonus scenes, short biography of Dasha, 15 minute long Behind the Scenes featurette by Dave Stotts, two photogalleries, positions room, double sided DVD cover, trailers, forced spam

Condoms: Yes

Audio/Video Quality: The picture was presented in the industry standard 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. It looked less grainy than Vivid's recent releases and except for some pattern noise in a couple of scenes, I think some definite improvements have been made by the company in terms of picture quality. The audio was presented in 2.0 stereo English with no closed captioning. The vocals were slightly hollow but not bad and the music was toned down a bit, which made them sound better than average. The DVD transfer did not appear to negatively impact either the audio or video here (although I saw a couple of artifacts here and there.

Body of Review: Vivid is one of the largest porn production companies in the world and has been for quite some time. In many ways, they are an industry leader, for better and for worse, due to their aggressive marketing over the years and standardization of their product. For all my fussing at the company over the years, I've found a lot to like (when one's expectations are high, it's easier to be disappointed) in terms of their contract stars and scenes, even if I'd suggest a number of changes to help them better adapt to the current market. That said, this review is about the company's latest feature, Photo Club.

The movie centered on former Vivid contract star Dasha as she went through a series of changes in her life. She was sexually harassed by her nasty old boss (aptly played by Herschel Savage), and treated like a fuck toy by her boyfriend (real life boyfriend Dillion) and generally expanded her sexual horizons after meeting a nice old pervert played by Mike Horner. The story was fairly disposable and the sex pretty good so here's a breakdown of the scenes by cast:

Scene One: Dasha, the cute blonde lead of the show, and her real life boyfriend, Dillion, had a scene on a bed. It had some chemistry and heat, even with the overacting on her part. It started off very playfully, which is always a nice change of pace (porno's tend to get nasty really quickly without foreplay, thereby limiting their appeal), and then progressed to oral and straight sex on the four-poster bed. He finished up by blowing a load to her face. Warm.

Scene Two: Brittney, a curvy blonde, took on old man Herschel in a beauty salon. She started off by giving him some head and a handjob before she let him enter her vaginally. They screwed for a few moments but it wasn't very warm this time.

Scene Three: Ann, a young looking Latino gal with all natural breasts, and Dasha, had a scene in an industrial setting. Lesbian scenes are a mixed bag but I think they had some fun, mostly with the licking parts but also with the toys. The lighting was sub-optimal but there wasn't as much grain as I expected. Not a bad scene by any standard.

Scene Four: Stormy, the babelicious Wicked Pictures contract performer, and Dillion, had a scene in the apartment building. It included a bit of verbal foreplay before the oral and straight sex. I think the scene was okay but limited by the scenario presented.

Scene Five: Cherokee, the dynamic little brunette, and Sunrise, the popular lean blonde, teamed up to take care of Slim on a couch in an open room. Most of the sexual antics went to Sunrise, who took the honors for the screwing and oral with him, but Cherokee did a bit with the couple as well. It had a few warm moments but I'd rather see all of them fully participate throughout the whole scene.

Scene Six: Cherokee, warmed up from the last scene, got and gave a bit of oral from/with mike on a chair in the next room. It was limited by the scenario as well but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it too.

Scene Seven: Lezley, the lean brunette, and Eric had a scene by a pool table indoors. Soon after they warmed each other up orally, Dasha joined them for some frolicking (and other licking). It was short but well done although I think he always did a better job with Jill Kelly (the performer, not the company).

Summary: I liked the cast enough to rate this one a Recommended, for all its faults. The sex wasn't something a raincoater would seek out but it was certainly good enough for couples to enjoy more than once (especially if you like the cast as much as I did). Replay value and extras tend to make or break a Vivid release in terms of overall value and the bonus scenes, while unrelated, were pretty solid. I also feel the improving technical qualities are deserving of mention, even if the company has a way to go in this regard. Even the cover art looked interesting, with an animated guy taking Dasha's picture, which is not the typical style the company has used (I give credit for thinking and acting outside the box). If you enjoy the market niche Vivid has chosen to focus on, you'll appreciate this one too.